Cat's Eyes
by EnglandGirl8990
Summary: Prisoner of Azkaban told through a different pair of green eyes. So who really is Crookshanks? Please R&R!
1. Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Cats' Eye

Chapter 1

Lily sat in her corner of the decrepit store, The Magical Menagerie. For years she sat in that corner in the store in Diagon Alley just watching people pass by. The storekeeper never paid much attention to her. Neither did anyone.

It all started years ago when she learned to become an animagus illegally during her time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She only wanted to see how it was done and ended up learning how to do it and keeping it a secret. She never really knew why everything ended up like this. Her husband, James Potter, died at the hand of the Dark Lord Voldemort for Lily and their son, Harry resulting in Lily and Harry being saved. So she wandered the streets as the amber colored cat with emerald green eyes until the storekeeper of The Magical Menagerie captured her and took her to his shop. She knew she wouldn't see Harry for a long time if ever again.

Lily never planned on being sold to any customer that walked through that creaky old door. Until she saw a young girl about the age of 13 with a pretty face and bushy brown hair wearing a Gryffindor Hogwarts uniform walk into the store. They instantly liked each other. The girl glanced around at other animals and then walked straight over to her.

"Oh he's gorgeous!" she exclaimed. _'I'm a she.' _Lily thought but couldn't really make much mention of it. "Sir!" the girl called to the stuffy old storekeeper. "This cat, how much is he?" "He's 56 sickles. Been here for quite awhile he has. About 12 years I think." the storekeeper replied. "Then it's about time he gets adopted." she said and took out her change purse and handed over 56 sickles.

She bought her a pretty blue collar, a red food dish, some chicken flavored cat food, and a comfortable looking bed. "Thank you, sir!" she said and happily left the shop.

_'I don't know how I'm ever going to get her to call me a she.' _Lily thought but figured it wasn't that big a deal. "Now what am I going to call you?" her new owner asked. She walked down Diagon Alley thinking for quite a while until she finally came up with something. "How about Crookshanks? Yes that's the perfect name for my perfect kitty." _'Crookshanks? Where did that come from?' _Lily couldn't believe that she may be spending the rest of her life going by the name of Crookshanks. _'It will take some getting used to.' _she concluded.

After awhile of walking through crowds of witches and wizards buying school supplies for the new school year, she spotted a boy who she could have sworn was James. Then with quite a feeling of shock she realized it was Harry._ 'I truly thought I would never see my little baby again!' _Lily felt like crying she was so happy to see him but cats can't cry. Harry looked just like James. He had the same dark, messy hair, same face, even similar glasses. But he had Lily's beautiful green eyes. And another difference Lily noticed was that Harry had something strange looking on his forehead. It looked to Lily like a scar.

"Harry! Ron!" Lily's owner called out to them. Harry and a boy with red hair, Ron, both turned in their direction. "Hey, Hermione." Ron said. "How's your summer been?" Harry asked as they all found a seat at a small circular table. "Oh, It's been a nice break." Hermione replied. "So what's that monster?" Ron laughed. "This is Crookshanks and he is the most perfect cat for me! Isn't he gorgeous? I couldn't believe it when the storekeeper said he's been there for 12 years!" Hermione said. "I can," Harry said, laughing along with Ron.

"Oh, stop you twits." Hermione said getting up. "I've gotten all my things so I'm heading back to the Leaky Cauldron. My parents said they would just let me stay the night here since we're leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow." "Yeah we had best be getting the rest of our stuff." Harry said. "Alright, I'll be seeing you later. We have to catch up!" And with that the three of them went their different ways and would meet again at dinner.

Ok tell me if you like it and if I should continue! Thanks for reading!


	2. The Leaky Caldron

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter 2

Hermione went back to the Leaky Caldron with her new cat. She went up to her room and put all her things in her trunk for tomorrows departure to Hogwarts. Lily was glad to see Harry again as she thought she never would. She wished she could talk to him but knew that would be out of the question.

"Ok, Crookshanks, let's go get some dinner." Hermione picked up the furry auburn cat and went downstairs.

When they got downstairs, Hermione immediately started showing off Crookshanks. "Isn't he just gorgeous!" As Hermione was talking to the Weasleys' about her, she noticed Harry and Ron come in. They sat down at an old creaky table and started talking. She decided to go eavesdrop. So she snuck away from her boasting owner to the table where Harry and Ron were.

Underneath the table, she could hear them talking and they didn't notice her. "So Egypt, how is it?" Harry asked. "Well there's a lot of sand and old pyramids and stuff like that. Fred, George, and I tried to lock Percy in one of the ancient monuments, but mum caught us and got angry. So how was your summer? I can't imagine it was very good." Ron said. "Well, my aunt Marge visited. She's really Dudley's aunt, not mine. Let's just say I lost my temper with her and, not on purpose, but I blew her up." Harry said. "Cool! How did you do it?" "I have no idea."

Harry and Ron continued with their conversation about their summer, Quidditch, and other various things. _'I think Petunia named her son Dudley but I don't know how he could even know his name.' _Lily thought.

At that moment, Hermione sat down with them. "Have either of you seen Crookshanks?" she asked. "You mean that furry beast? No." Ron said glancing around. Lily decided not to worry her and jumped into her lap. "Oh there you are!" she said. Harry and Ron started snickering.

At about 6:00, the Weasleys' Hermione and Harry sat down for dinner. After dinner, Lily saw Mr. Weasley talking to Harry. She slipped away from Hermione and went over to where they were. "Harry, I have something very important to talk to you about." Mr. Weasley said. He took Harry over to the far wall. This was the first time Lily noticed poster after poster that said:

**Have You Seen This Wizard?**

**Approach With Extreme Caution!**

**Do Not Attempt To Use Magic**

**Against This Man!**

Lily felt like she had seen him before, but just didn't recognize him. She looked away from the poster and pack to Harry and Mr. Weasley. "Harry you are in great danger." he said. "Does this have anything to do with Sirius Black?" Harry asked. "Yes Harry. He is extremely dangerous especially to you. That's why he escaped Azkaban."

"To kill me." Harry said. Mr. Weasley nodded. "Don't go after him, Harry." "But Mr. Weasley, why would I want to go after someone who wants to kill me?" Harry asked.

Lily was to shocked to listen to anything else. She slowly looked back at the man on the poster. That's why she recognized him. _'Something is very wrong.'_ she thought.

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	3. The Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter 3

It was September first. Students and parents were bustling around platform 9 and 3/4 saying goodbye and putting their luggage on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, found a compartment in the back where a sleeping man sat in the corner.

"I suppose we'll just have to sit in here. Every where else is full." Hermione said sitting down. "So who's this guy? I've never seen an adult on the train before." Ron said. "He's professor R. J. Lupin, our new defense against the dark arts teacher." Hermione replied. "How do you always know everything Hermione?" Ron asked. "It's written on his trunk." Hermione said pointing up at the luggage rack.

Lily looked up at the peeling letters R. J. Lupin and then back at the man. _It's Remus!_ _He did always want to be a Hogwarts teacher! But wow he looks old... _Lily thought. _Has it really been that long?_

_"Are you sure he's asleep?" Harry asked. "Yes, why?" Hermione replied. "Because I have to tell you guys something." Harry said. So Harry told them what Ron's dad told him._

"So Sirius Black escaped Azkaban to kill you? That's just creepy." Ron said. "You have to be very careful, Harry. Don't go looking for trouble." Hermione said. "I don't go looking for trouble it usually finds me." Harry replied. "Ow! Scabbers bit me!" Ron said.

Ron started sucking on his wounded finger and Lily looked over at Scabbers and Scabbers stared back. Lily recognized him and she could tell he recognized her as well. _Peter. That little rat destroyed everything. Because of him Harry doesn't know either of his parents, James was killed, and Sirius went to Azkaban for some reason but I have a feeling it has to do with Peter._ Lily could feel burning anger boiling up inside of her. She couldn't control it. She leaped out of Hermione's lap and pounced on him. "Crookshanks!" Hermione said picking up her struggling cat. "No, don't do that!" she scolded. "Scabbers, are you alright?" Ron said. "Keep that monster away from Scabbers!" "All cats chase rats Ron!" "Keep it down you two! You don't want to wake professor Lupin." Harry said.

It became very quiet in the compartment. But then they all heard a strange noise and the train slowly came to a stop.

"Why did we stop?" was heard all over the train. Then everyone felt a cold chill and everything went dark. They heard a thump on the floor as someone fell over.

Moments later, a looming dark creature stood in the doorway to their compartment. Lily knew what this horrible creature was. It was a dementor, a guard of Azkaban.

Remus immediately woke up and muttered something. A magnificent white light emitted from his wand and the creature dissapeard. Lily looked on the floor to see Harry getting up and Remus handing him some chocolate. Remus told them what it was and said he was going to go have a word with the train conductor. As he left, he gave her a small smile. It was good to know she was recognized by someone decent.

**Thanks for all who read this and please review! **


	4. Arriving at Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter 4- Arriving at Hogwarts

It was unpleasantly cold and rainy when they stepped off the train at Hogsmeade station. Lily looked up at the vast castle that was Hogwarts. It had been so long since she had seen it and she missed it very much. For once in a very long time, Lily felt quite happy. She looked over and saw Hagrid leading the first years over to the boats and many students getting off the train and into the horseless carriages.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione got into one and rode up to Hogwarts. Lily enjoyed listening to her son talk with his friends. She wished that she could have been there for him all his life. She wished many things and could only hope that one day they might come half true.

"I signed up for divination this year but it sounds strange." Harry said. "Yes it's the most inaccurate form of magic." Hermione said. "I took it too but only because I couldn't figure out what class to choose. That one seemed the least boring." Ron said.

Soon they were at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione put there things down in the hall so the house elves could take it up to their dorms. "Bye, Crookshanks. I'll see you after dinner." Hermione said and walked down the corridor to the Great Hall.

Lily decided to try to get out of her cage and listen to what was going on at dinner. She used her claw to pick the lock and soon was finding her way to the Great Hall.

Once she got there, she heard a lot of noise from all the students talking. A few moments later, she watched as Dumbledore stood up and began to make his beginning of the year speech.

"Welcome new students and welcome back to others. I hope this will be a very good year at Hogwarts even under the circumstances. I'm sure you all know that Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban prison and as a safety precaution, the Dementors, or guards of Azkaban, will be just outside of Hogwarts grounds. I should warn you not to anger them. Dementors aren't known to be forgiving. And just a reminder from our caretaker, Mr. Filch, that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students. Thank you and enjoy your meal." Dumbledore said and with a wave of his hand, food appeared at all of the tables.

Lily was rather surprised that Dumbledore was going to allow the Dementors to be that close to Hogwarts but didn't think much of it as she was trying to find Harry from underneath the Gryffindor table without being seen.

Soon she found them about midway into the Great Hall. "I'm not looking forward to having Dementors on the grounds." Ron said. "I know." Hermione replied. "But I don't know what's keeping them from sneaking into Hogwarts. It's not like they actually want to listen to Dumbledore."

They continued their conversation while Lily stayed under the table listening and thinking. _There must be some mistake. Sirius would never hurt Harry. He was always there to protect him! _Lily thought. _But if Harry hadn't ever heard of Sirius, didn't recognize Remus, and he obviously didn't go to Peter, than who did he grow up with? Maybe Dumbledore sent him to a foster family?_

Lily's thought were interrupted when she heard something Harry, Ron, and Hermione were talking about that caught her ear. "So Harry, tell me more about how you blew up your Aunt Marge." Ron said. "You what?" Hermione said shocked. "Well she was visiting and she started saying things like 'Oh your father was a drunk' and 'Your mother did nothing' so I lost my temper and I told her to shut up and I really don't know what I did to make her blow up like that. She just started floating right out the door and Uncle Vernon went after her but he couldn't hold on. I just went up to my room and packed up my stuff and when I came back down stairs, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were really angry."

Harry continued telling about how he left the Dursley's while Lily continued with what she was thinking about. _Well that answered my question. _Lily thought although she couldn't imagine how Harry had lived there most of his life.

****

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	5. Professor Snape

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

**Chapter 5- Professor Snape**

Lily thought that if she kept a low profile that she could follow Harry, Ron, and Hermione throughout the day. So she followed them to breakfast where everyone was getting their schedules for the year. "And once again we have potions first thing with the Slytherins." Ron said outraged. "They could have put us with the Raveclaws or even with the Hufflepuffs but it's always the Slytherins." "Calm down, Ron, it's not that bad." Hermione said. "We had better get down to the dungeons before we're late. You know how he gets." Harry said getting up from Gryffindor table. "Maybe they fired him." Ron said hopefully. "It wouldn't be a surprise. Everyone hates him."

Lily figured that they must have the worst teacher imaginable at the rate they were running to get to class. When they got to the potions classroom, Lily saw all the Slytherins and Gryffindors pilling in. The teacher was in the front of the room with his back turned.

"No the didn't fire the stupid git." Lily heard Ron whisper to Harry disappointedly. Lily could tell even from behind that he was a nasty man with his long, black, rather torn cloak and his greasy dark hair. She watched as the students talked quietly amongst themselves. And then she heard the droning voice that had haunted her all throughout her time at Hogwarts. "Sit down and stay silent for the remainder of this class."

And then he turned around. Severus Snape. He hadn't changed much since she had last seen him many years ago. Same gross hair, dark, menacing eyes, sneer and even the same abnormally hooked nose.

Lily observed from the corner how nasty Snape could be, how he favored the Slytherins, and particularly how he picked on Harry. And she knew why. Severus and Harry's dad, James had never gotten along throughout all their seven years at Hogwarts right from the moment they met. If they ever got in a fight, James would always win with only words as he was very charming. James had everything Snape wanted and with his arrogance would rub it in his face. So finally Snape had the chance to get back at him by taking out his anger towards him on Harry.

Lily didn't like this at all. No matter what Harry did ,such as sneezing or making a sudden movement, Snape would always take points from Gryffindor for 'disrupting the class.'

"I will be collecting summer homework." Snape said getting up abruptly and walked around the class shoving his hand in students faces until they handed him the three page essay on the rather complicated Glow Potion.

When Harry handed his over, Snape surveyed it very carefully. "Mr. Potter, I told you to write three pages." Snape said. "I did" Harry replied coldly. "Do you call this three pages?" Snape asked shoving the last page in Harry's face making him lean back in his chair. "I call that two and a half." Snape said. "Just barely." Harry said. "Well it doesn't matter as I'm not giving you credit for it." Snape sneered.

To Lily that was going too far. As Snape walked away, she bounded after him and quickly swiped his leg with her claws. He quickly turned around. For a moment Lily thought he recognized her as their eyes locked for a few seconds. Then he said, "What is this cat doing in here? Get out!"

Lily stayed put only for a little while and then bolted out the door. _How could Dumbledore trust someone like Severus Snape to be a Hogwarts teacher?_ Lily thought as she made her way into the Entrance Hall. _I'll just wait here for Harry, Ron and Hermione so I can follow them to their next class._

Lily was so deep in thought that she almost didn't hear the voice behind her. "You do know that student's pets aren't allowed to wander around Hogwarts don't you?" Lily turned around and saw an old scraggly tabby cat with deep burgundy eyes. She recognized her as the caretakers cat.

"Mrs. Norris! I remember you when you were a kitten. It's been such a long time!" Lily stopped when she realized she was talking to a cat quickly remembering that she was a cat. Just then, the bell rang and momentarily students were bustling around the Entrance Hall.

"I'll be seeing you around Lily." Mrs. Norris said and scurried off into the crowd. Lily had so much on her mind that she almost forgot to look for Harry. She was confused about a lot of things. What happened to Sirius? How did Harry end up with the Dursley's? How did Severus Snape become a professor and how did Mrs. Norris know her name?

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	6. Hogsmeade

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter 6- Hogsmeade

September went by in a flash without any strange occurrences and soon it was October 1. The first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was coming up and all the students were looking forward to it.

Recently Lily stayed up in the girls dormitory until classes were over. She had seen all of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's classes at least once but sometimes she would still check into the potions classroom just to see that things were going fairly smoothly.

It was a Wednesday and Lily was getting bored in the dorms and decided to follow Harry to his first class of the day which was Transfiguration. She always remembered that James was fantastic at that subject but that didn't seem to be one thing he passed on to Harry. She found it amusing that Professor McGonagal was still teaching at Hogwarts. She couldn't imagine how long she had tought there.

After following Harry, Ron, and Hermione down twisting staircases and through winding corridors, they finally walked into the Transfiguration room.

"Good morning," Professor McGonagal said. "Today I will be collecting your signed permission forms to go to Hogsmeade this weekend." she said. "Ron," Harry whispered. "I didn't get mine signed." "Why not?" "Uncle Vernon said he would sign it if I behaved while Aunt Marge was visiting and I left right after that so he never got a chance."

Professor McGonagal walked down the rows collecting the forms. When she got to Harry and Ron's desk, Ron turned in his but Harry didn't have his.

Lily wished there was something she could do but cat's can't write.

The Hogsmeade weekend came all too fast and Lily followed Harry down to say goodbye to his friends. "I'm really sorry you can't come, Harry." Hermione said sympathetically. "Yeah I wish you could come." Ron said. "Yeah so do I. But you guys go enjoy yourselves." Harry said smiling. "Well alright. But next year for sure your coming." Hermione told him.

Ron and Hermione headed off to Hogsmeade and Harry went up to the Gryffindor boy's dorms and Lily trailed behind him careful not to be noticed. On the way there, they ran into Fred and George Weasley. Lily watched the conversation from around the corner. "Harry! Just the person we're looking for!" Fred said. "Hey Fred and George." Harry said. "Why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" "Because we have a better way of getting there." George replied. "And that's just what we want to talk to you about. We heard about you not being able to go to Hogsmeade this year so we're going to give you this." Fred pulled a rather old looking piece of parchment from his pocket and gave it to Harry. Harry looked down at the blank piece of parchment confused. "Yes we know what your thinking." Fred said. "Your probably going to ask us what are we doing with a blank piece of parchment but open it, point your wand in the middle and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'." George said.

Harry opened the parchment, said the words, and slowly it started to reveal burgundy ink. "Well read it." the twins persisted. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present the Marauders map." Harry read. "Those are odd names." "Well I think there nicknames but that's not the point." George said. "Whoever wrote this map are geniuses. This map, Harry, shows every single secret passageway in Hogwarts including ways to get to Hogsmeade." Fred said. "We've memorized the map so we're going to give it to you. So I suggest that you go get your invisibility cloak and we'll meet you there."

Harry headed up to the dorms, got his invisibility cloak, which Lily recognized as James's old family heirloom, and found the closest secret corridor to Hogsmeade which turned out to be a statue of Ewrick the Oddball.

Harry walked down the long corridor closely followed by Lily. It was quite dark and covered in cobwebs. While walking there, Lily remembered James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter making the Marauders map. She had never approved of it but always thought it amazing however they did it.

When they got there, they ended up in the basement of the candy store. Lily tried to follow the sound of Harry's footsteps up the creaky staircase. When they got up to the store, many students were eating way to much. _They'll be feeling that later. _Lily thought. Through the crowd, it was hard to distinguish where Harry was until she saw the door open and nobody was there. She quickly scurried through the door and followed him outside.

Once out on the small cobblestone streets, Lily could see Harry's footsteps in the snow. They soon ran into Ron and Hermione who were walking by the Three Broomsticks.

Harry took off the cloak and explained how he got there and showed them the map. "Harry! I see you got here." George said from behind them. "Which way did you take?" Fred asked. "The one by Ewrick the Oddball." Harry replied. "Oh yeah that's a good one." Fred and George agreed.

Once Fred and George headed off to the joke shop, Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned around to see Mr. Fudge, the Minister of Magic, along with Professor McGonagal and Madame Rosemerta talking about something. When they got closer they could hear they're conversation.

"Mr. Fudge, I will not be having dementors coming in and out of my shop every other day!" Madame Rosemerta said. "I know, we'll work that out. How about we go up stairs and talk about this?" Fudge asked.

As they walked in the door, Harry put on the invisibility cloak and followed them. Lily quickly scurried after him. Once they got upstairs, they walked over to the corner and listened in on the conversation.

"Now what is this all about?" Rosemerta asked. "Sirius Black." Fudge replied. "Yes, Rosemerta, that's why we have the dementors here in the first place." McGonagal said. "As I'm sure you know, he's the one who killed 12 muggles and one wizard with a single curse. That wizard being his friend Peter Pettigrew." she explained. "I don't believe I remember Peter." Rosmerta said. "Oh sure you do. He was always hanging around Sirius, Remus, and James." McGonagal said. "Oh yes. James Potter, Harry Potter's father." Rosemerta said. "Sirius was Lily and James's secret keeper. He was the only one who knew where they were and he went and told you-know-who." McGonagal told them. Rosemerta looked shocked. "Yes he was James's best friend. I don't think Harry knows this but Sirius Black is Harry Potter's godfather."

After she said this, Lily heard footsteps walking in a fast pace towards the door. It flung open on it's creaky hinges and while it was still open, Lily ran through it.

Outside, Ron and Hermione were waiting on a bench. They saw Harry's footsteps in the snow and followed him.

"Harry!" Hermione said closely following him and Ron behind her. "Harry, hold on." She walked up and tore the cloak off of him and he slowly came to a stop but he didn't turn around. "Harry what is it?" Ron asked. Harry faced them and took a deep breath. "He was their friend. Sirius Black was my parents friend. And he betrayed them. He's the reason they're dead." Harry told them. "And he's my godfather."

With saying that, Harry sat down on a snow covered rock and stared blankly in the distance. Hermione and Ron sat down next to him and for a few moments their was silence. All that could be heard was the sound of the cold breeze blowing by them and some students in Hogsmeade walking around the snow covered town.

Thanks to all who read and review! This is my longest chapter so far!:) I hope to answer some more questions like about Mrs. Norris in the next chapter.


	7. Mrs Norris

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 7- Mrs. Norris**

Lily was getting quite bored. She had been staying in the Gryffindor common room and girl's dorms for a week. She needed to get out and take a walk around the castle. Pushing the portrait open, she walked through into the darkness of the hallway.

She walked down the Grand Staircase and noticed how beautiful the moon looked, spreading it's light across the many flights of stairs downward. She always thought full moons looked pretty. Then she thought of Remus. Being a werewolf he couldn't possibly think the same. He was probably out at the Whomping Willow as it was already midnight.

She got to the bottom of the staircase and walked down several hallways through to the Great Hall. There she noticed Mrs. Norris sitting calmly by the door to the dungeons. Lily was hoping that she wouldn't see her but then she looked up. "Lily!" she said, her voice echoing around the hall. "Come here, I want to talk to you."

Lily made her way over and sat down next to her. "So, how are you doing?" Mrs. Norris asked in her old, low pitched voice. "Alright, I guess," Lily replied. _I can't believe I'm having a conversation with a cat._ She thought. "I noticed you following Potter, Weasly, and Granger around lately." she said. "Yeah." "I can understand I mean I know you haven't seen him in awhile." She knew she was talking about Harry. "Are you surprised how much he looks like James?" "Not really. He even looked like him as a baby." Lily said. There was a few moments of silence until Lily broke the awkward quiet. "Mrs. Norris, how do you recognize me?" Lily asked. "Oh I saw you along with James, Sirius, and Peter change into your animal form several times. I was out on the grounds late at night a long time ago just to get away from Argus. Honestly, he can get on your last nerve, but anyway, I saw you with the others there at the Whomping Willow." Lily was quite surprised. She didn't think that anyone ever saw them. But of course they were really only looking out for people seeing them. Soon, they heard footsteps echoing up the dungeon stairs. "That would be Argus. You had better hurry and get back up to Gryffindor common room." Mrs. Norris said. Lily quickly headed back through the hallways and up the Grand Staircase.

Once inside, Lily wasn't quite sure what she felt like doing. She wasn't tired and she wasn't hungry. Being a cat could really get to you sometimes. After a few moments of sitting on the couch alone, she heard footsteps coming down the boy's dorm stairs. Her heart lifted when she saw it was Harry. She saw him come down late at night every now and then but he had never noticed her. He either just sat down and started finishing up school work or sat in front of the nearly extinguished flames and stared blankly into the dancing firelight. But this time he did notice her.

"Hey, Crookshanks." he said. He promptly laid down on the couch and stared out the window. She jumped up on the couch and curled up next to him. She couldn't help it. After about an hour, she saw him slowly starting to go to sleep. She wished she could change into her human form, for just a moment, kiss him on the forehead. Then, for the first time in years, she did. Harry, being half asleep, glanced at her for only a second. Lily held her breath. If he saw her who knows what would happen. She would have to explain why she couldn't be there for him all these years and she knew he wouldn't understand. Luckily he drifted off to sleep, obviously not thinking much of it. _He must have thought he was dreaming, or maybe he didn't see me. The fire's gone out and the room is only lit with moonlight._ Lily thought. Once she knew he was asleep, she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, right on his scar. Then she changed back into Crookshanks.

Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews! Sorry it took so long to get this out. I just haven't gotten around to it. Thanks again!


	8. Christmas

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter 8- Christmas

The year was going by very fast and Lily couldn't believe it was already nearing Christmas. She looked out at the snow covered grounds of Hogwarts, watching as students were walking around in the snow and getting ready for their Christmas holiday.

"I owled my parents," Hermione said to Ron and Harry. "They said I could stay at Hogwarts for Christmas with you guys. They didn't sound all that happy about it but their going skiing over the holidays and that's not really my thing." "Cool." Harry and Ron said in unison. They were sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast. It was the day that the Hogwarts Express was going back to Kings Cross and most of the students were already packed up and ready to go.

Lily was glad that Hermione was staying for Christmas. If she was going back with her parents, she would have to leave Harry over the holidays. "Did the Dursley's send you anything?" Ron asked Harry. "Just the usual menial gift. It's a five pence piece," Harry said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a shiny coin. "Is that muggle money?" Ron asked astonished. "Yeah you can have it," Harry said handing it to Ron. "Cool, thanks," Ron said staring intently at it.

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went up to the nearly empty Gryffindor common room, Lily closely following. Harry and Ron spent the rest of the day playing chess and Hermione finished a book she had gotten from the library.

The next day was Christmas. Lily woke up quite early and she didn't know why. She usually slept until 8:00 and it was now 6:30. She got up from her plushy bed at the end of Hermione's bed and stretched. Being rather bored of just sitting around, she decided to go into the boy's dorms and see if they were awake yet, particularly Harry.

When she got there the room was dark and obviously no one was awake yet. She made her way over to Harry's bed and noticed how even more handsome he looked without glasses. She looked over at his bed side stand and saw a picture of her and James. She remembered taking that picture so well even though it was so many years ago. If she was able to cry she would have but it just seemed as if she was taken back in time to that day…

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It was very cold out. She was walking beside James and it seemed as if the warmest part of her was her hand which he held. They were going to visit Lily's parents in London.

"I told you we should have taken a taxi over there," James said smirking.

"I know, I didn't think it was going to be this cold," Lily said.

Sirius was trailing behind them, lost in thought as usual. His pockets were bulging with the three things he always took with him: His wand, his wallet, and his camera. Sirius was a part-time reporter for the Daily Prophet and always had to have these things with him.

"I've got some good stories for the paper." Sirius said catching up with them. "Well that's good. Maybe they'll finally promote you." James said. "I want to develop this film to turn it in to my boss but there's one more picture left on here. You two, go stand over there." Sirius said. There was a quick flash as Sirius took the picture. "That'll be a keeper," he said.

As they kept walking, Lily thought of the future. She would just have to hope for the best and keep holding on.

She knew the past was gone and there was no going back to it except for in memories but time always seemed to repeat in her head as if she was constantly near a Dementor. Whether they were good or bad memories, they were still there clear as glass.

The sound of ruffling sheets brought her out of her thoughts. She looked over to see Ron rolling out of bed immediately stumbling over to wake Harry up.

"Harry!" he said sleepily. "Wake up, it's Christmas!" Harry slowly pushed himself out of bed. Soon, Hermione came up and they started opening their presents from each other. They got an assortment of things like books and candy and sweaters from Mrs. Weasly but the most coveted gift was a Firebolt. The broomstick, the best one available, was given to Harry but no one could figure out who it was from.

"Harry if that was from Sirius Black who knows what kind of evil jinxes it has on it! It would be an easy way for him to kill you without even getting near you! And besides, no one would have any proof that he did it!" Hermione said. "Don't be ridiculous, Hermione." Ron said blowing the idea off.

After lunch, they all decided to go to Hagrid's to tell him the Firebolt. Lily really didn't like getting all matted in the snow but decided to follow them anyway. They trudged through the snow and knocked on his large wooden door to his rather small hut. They heard Fang, Hagrid's dog, barking before he came to the door. He invited them in and they told him about the broom.

"Well that's quite a gift Harry." Hagrid said. "I still think it's very strange that someone would give that to you and not even sign their name." Hermione said indignantly. Hagrid offered them some tea and cookies but they told him they just had breakfast knowing that Hagrid's cookies could break your teeth. He really wasn't a good cook.

It had been an hour and they said they should head back to the castle. When arriving in the quiet of the Entrance Hall, Hermione said she wanted to go to the library. So Harry and Ron went up to the Gryffindor house by themselves. It was emptyandHarry and Ron had nothing to do and decided to play chess for the rest of the day and wait for Hermione to come back.

Thanks to all who read and review! I hope to make the next chapter more interesting. I also changed my pen name just to let you know.


	9. Quidditch

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 9- Quidditch

It was getting late and Hermione still had not come back from the library. "She must have gotten into one of her reading spurts and lost track of time. We should go to bed." Ron said after a couple of hours. _I haven't seen her come in either._ Lily thought. _Maybe she did and we just didn't notice her. I was napping on the couch for awhile._ Lily went up to the girl's dorms and, just as she thought, saw Hermione asleep in her bed.

"Did you spend the night at the library, Hermione?" Ron asked the next morning at breakfast. "No, I came back in about a half an hour. You just didn't notice me," she replied. "So you came in, walked right past us and didn't say anything?" Harry asked. "Well…you were both so intent with your chess match I thought you heard me come in so I didn't disturb you." Hermione said speaking quickly. "Whatever." Ron said as Ginny sat down with them.

"Hello." Ginny greeted. "Are you ready for the next Quidditch match, Harry? It's against Hufflepuff right?" she asked. "Yeah it should be alright. We have a few more practices." Lily had never gotten to see Harry in a match. Last time she didn't know about it and was very disappointed that she had missed it.

After breakfast, Hermione was walking a bit ahead talking with Ginny while Harry and Ron stayed behind talking amongst themselves. "That was odd the way Hermione walked in so quietly." Ron said. "Yeah. We were just not paying attention, I guess." Harry said.

The Quidditch match came all to soon and it was torrentially raining. Lily hated getting wet but only when she was a cat. She couldn't stand it. She tried to go out right before the match but she couldn't do it. As she was getting all spastic as she went back inside the castle, she really got to thinking how she was going to see Harry in the match. _I refuse to miss another. Even though it's raining, I hope to still recognize him._ Suddenly a thought hit her. _If I go as myself, I could keep my hood up and no one would recognize me! If I can get some student robes, nobody should notice…_

Lily glanced up at the clock in the Entrance Hall. _11:30. I have a half an hour._ So she took off to Gryffindor tower. She went up to Hermione's trunk and found several fresh uniforms ready for wearing. Lily then took the robes piece by piece in her mouth as quickly as she could to the bathroom. _Alright…I've only transformed once in 12 years. _Taking a deep breath and hoping no one would suddenly pop in she changed from Crookshanks into Lily Potter. Slowly turning around, Lily looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn't seen that face in the reflection for so long, that she had almost forgotten what it looked like.

Pulling herself together, she started changing into Hermione's robes._ I hope these fit._ Once she got them on, they were a bit snug but they would do. She tucked her long, auburn hair into the hood of the Gryffindor robes and went downstairs.

Once she was in the Entrance Hall, she joined the many students filing out the door into the heavy rain. It actually felt nice as she walked along the muddy path to the Quidditch pitch. The cool rain lingering on her face and the heavy gusts of winds blowing at her clothes. It brought back memories of when she was in Hogwarts. Luckily no one seemed suspicious of who she was.

Lily chose a stand that she didn't recognize anyone going onto. She sat in the far left corner and couldn't tell who anybody was sitting around her. _Good I won't look the least bit suspicious._

It took awhile for the match to get started, but even after it did it was hard to tell what anyone was doing or even who they were. She tried to read the names of the people flying by her but she could barely see through all the rain. After about a half hour she spotted Harry hovering nearby. He was absolutely drenched. _I can barely see a person flying on a broomstick in this weather so I can't imagine trying to spot a snitch!_

An hour passed then two andluckily it was clearing up. Not stopping but getting better. She was paying such close attention to the match that when she turned to reach an itch on her back, it surprised her to see a large, black dog standing next to her in the stands. He seemed quite interested in the match which Lily thought was odd for an animal. Then he looked at her. Recognition and sickening realization washed over her. His dark eyes pierced through her and she couldn't turn away. "Sirius," she whispered. She wished she could talk to him, ask him what was going on and how he became one of the most feared wizards in the world. Lee Jordan broke her gaze with an announcement over the loudspeaker. "IT SEEMS HARRY POTTER HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH!" The crowd turned it's gaze upon Harry as he zoomed across the pitch quickly followed by Diggory of the Hufflepuff team. She turned to see if Sirius was still next to her but it seemed he had already disappeared.

It felt like an age could have passed and they still hadn't caught up with the snitch through the still heavy rain. As she glanced around the stadium she saw Dumbledore on the other side. He looked back at her. For a moment there eyes locked and Dumbledore had that twinkle in his eye that always gave it away that he knew. Whatever it may be, you could always tell and that was the only hint he would give.

As she watched and anxiously waited for the snitch to be caught, she was steadily feeling the air become unnaturally cool. It seemed to get thinner with every minuet that passed and it was getting quite uncomfortable. In the distance she could see shadowy figures approaching the huge crowd. She heard several gasps and knew that others had spotted them as well. They quickly closed in on the pitch and nobody knew what to do.

She glanced around and saw people shifting around in the stands and immediately searched around for Harry. She saw him almost side by side with Diggory but she didn't know if he realized. Then she saw him faint, just like that day on the train, and plummet to the ground.

She gasped and held her breath, wishing there was something she could do. Then a loud voice echoed around the stands. She looked over and saw Dumbledore standing as he bellowed some sort of a spell. Lily watched as Harry slowed down and then disappeared from sight behind astand.

Lily pushed her way through the crowd and as she made her way down the many flights of stairs, thanked Dumbledore in her jumbled, hurried thoughts.


	10. Remus Lupin

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 10- Remus Lupin

Lily had followed them to the infirmary and saw a huge group of Gryffindors crowded around Harry who was laying unconscious in a hospital bed. Keeping her hood up, she stood on her toes to see if he was showing any signs of coming out of it. Her heart was still thumping madly as she glanced around the room at all the worried faces. Then she gasped, hoping she wasn't caching any attention as she hurried out to the hall. _I can't believe I just walked in there without changing back! _Lily mentally slapped herself. _If I change back here anyone passing by could see me. _She decided to find the nearest closet or bathroom quickly. As she walked down one of the hallways she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Lily," called the kind, soft voice of Remus Lupin. She stopped and hesitantly turned around. She wanted to speak with him but she also wanted to walk away, ignoring him as if he had mistaken her for someone else.

He walked up with that same friendly, but rather cheerless expression. She hadn't gotten a chance all year to get a good look at his face. Now, as she studied it after so many years, it seemed like nothing had changed, but if she looked deeper, she could tell that everything had. Wrinkles lined his forlorn eyes and specks of gray could be seen throughout his hair. His smile carried a more stressed, depressed appearance but it was well hidden.

"Long time," she said after awhile of simply standing in front of each other. "Yes." He merely said. After another few seconds of silence he sighed and said, "Would you like to come to my office?" She smiled from underneath her hood. "Alright."

Once in the safety of Remus's office, she removed her cover. He leaned against his desk in front of her. _Come on, after so many years I have to be able to think of something to say._ Luckily he spoke first. "I see you've taken to watching out for Harry," he said. "Yes…he reminds me so much of James," her voice trailed off. "I was quite surprised when I first saw him on the train." Remus said with a faint laugh. "Same hair, facial features, glasses, although James's were square. But his eyes are distinctly yours," Remus said.

They continued talking about Harry, and how things had been over the past 12 years. "I've been wanting to talk to you for so long, Lily. I really wanted to ask you about that night," he started cautiously. She just nodded. "How did you survive? I mean, I had no idea…" he said her in a rather hushed tone. Lily had thought about it before. She wasn't entirely sure but she had a good guess. "I think that the same spell that saved Harry saved me," she said. "When James told me to run with Harry and that he would hold Voldemort off, I knew what he was thinking. We both had talked about that spell. Though we didn't entirely agree on it, we waited to see if it would even be necessary." Her mind drifted off to the horrible memories that she hadn't let herself relive for so long. Lily just put a wall up in her thoughts if it ever came to mind. But now it was just to powerful and recollections of that warble of time flooded her brain. Closing her eyes she tried to relax and continue. "Harry is alright which is what we both wanted…even with that retched scar," Lily said.

Remus seemed tired as usual but he was very attentive to what Lily had to say. "If you ever had the chance, do you think you would tell Harry who you really are?" he asked. "No, not unless truly needed. I would love to talk to Harry but I can't imagine how he would feel knowing that his mother is one of his best friends pets!" Lily said. Remus gave that half smile. "There may come a time one day that he'll need you and you'll know you can be there for him." Remus said. Lily just nodded and said, "I know."

After a few more minuets Lily thought of something to ask Remus. Something she had been itching to know since she saw that poster in the Leaky Caldron. "Remus, I'm not sure if you would know about this but…what ever happened to Sirius? I've seen posters up everywhere and that's all that's on the cover of the Daily Prophet anymore is how he escaped Azkaban," Lily said. Remus sighed. Now it was his turn. "I really don't know who to believe with that, Lily," he said. "All I've heard is that twelve years ago, right after what happened with James, Harry, you, and Voldemort, Sirius got word of it and knew that Peter had ratted you three out. Well, you know Sirius as impulsive as he is, went after Peter and found him somewhere in a muggle town. After a while they got a bit of an audience as of course he was furious. It may shock you but Sirius was accused and convicted of killing Peter and 12 muggles standing near by with a single curse." Remus said. Lily was speechless. Sirius had done many rash things before but he had never taken it that far. "I knew something was strange," Lily managed to say. "I didn't even recognize him on those posters."

A swift knock on the door broke the awkwardness of the conversation. "Remus?" the sly voice of Severus Snape echoed throughout the hallway outside. "Just a minuet, Severus." Remus replied. "Lily, change back and I'll try let you by when I open the door," he whispered. "Alright." Remus started for the door as Lily changed back into Crookshanks. "Severus what can I do for you?" she heard him say as she scurried down the hallway. "I would like to know how that werewolf suppression potion is doing you any more good since I added wolfs bane," she heard Snape say. She couldn't hear anything else as Remus had already let him in and shut the door.


	11. Learning the Truth

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 11- Learning the Truth

Lily sat in the girl's dormitory window and stared out at the dim light that fell around Hogwarts. Evening was soon approaching. Ignoring all the giggling girls behind her, she closed up deep in thought.

"Remus had said that Sirius killed 13 people with a single curse…that can't be true. I know he can act rashly, but under no circumstances would he kill anyone. I can understand that he was furious but nonetheless the Sirius I remember would have settled it in a more civilized way," she thought.

As she gazed out the window, she saw a dark shadow moving outside near the Forbidden Forest. It soon made it's way out into the faint daylight. The image of a large black dog, looking like an ink blot in the shadowy grounds, walked along in a self contained way. _"Sirius! I have to go talk to him."_

Hermione had her nose stuck in a book, so Lily made her way easily around her ran down the stairs. She dashed throughout Hogwarts until she made her way to the Great Hall. The door was closed but she had an idea. She jumped up, grabbed the door knob, wiggled back and forth until she heard a click and the door swung open.

She ran outside and glanced around. _"Where is he?" _Than she spotted him on the far side of the lake. "Sirius!" she shouted with her mind to get his attention. He glanced up, saw her and looked away. "Sirius, I've been wanting to talk to you," she said sitting down next to him. He didn't look at her. He didn't even seem to know that she was sitting there.

"Lily…I'm so sorry," he said at last. "What do you mean? I know that nothing is your fault," she tod him sincerely. "In some ways it is," he said.

They sat in silence for a few minuets. It was starting to get dark and the reflection of the bright red sun setting over the forest skimmed the lake. "Can you please tell me what really happened, Sirius?" Lily asked. "How did you get thrown into Azkaban for something you didn't do?"

Sirius took a deep breathe and told her his story. Beginning with the last time he saw Lily and James to the that very moment, when they were reunited at last. "So all for nothing?…You sat in that dank, inhumane prison for a crime you had no part in?" Lily asked. "Well, basically yes," Sirius said, and to her surprisement, he started chuckling. _"I don't know how he could possibly find any humor in it,"_ She thought.

The sun had set and the two of them sat staring out at the lake. The waning moon reflected upon the water like a mirror to the solar system. Lily felt oddly content. Sitting here with Sirius and finally knowing what had really happened. That it was their traitor friend that had destroyed their lives as they knew it. That he was the reason that Harry grew up without a decent family and Lily had to watch from afar.

"Sirius, if you could ever talk to Harry and have a decent conversation, what would you say?" Lily asked. He looked out across the lake in thought. "That I'm sorry…that I should have done more to track down that rat and serve him, and you, justice. And, even if it was to much for him, that I care about him more than anything in the world. As if he were my own," Sirius said.

"I know he would appreciate that," Lily said. "Listen Lily, I'll get that little rat in his own game, whether it's by myself or with you or Remus or anyone. Just as long as he gets what he deserves," Sirius said. "I would try to help you, but my owner, Hermione, is one of Harry's friends. Another one of their friends, Ron, owns "Scabbers" he calls him, but it's Peter. If I was ever caught with his rat it would surely tear their friendship apart," Lily said. "Perfectly understandable," Sirius said.

They sat and talked until the moon was high in the sky. Lily realized it was getting late. She bid Sirius goodbye and they agreed to meet again soon. She ran back through Hogwarts and into the girl's dorms. "Crookshanks! Where have you been?" Hermione said scooping her up and putting her on the bed next to her. "Stay there while I finish up some extra credit for Transfiguration."

Lily hadn't felt so at ease in a long time.

UPDATE! Wow, I thought I'd never think of any more to write! If you have any ideas please do tell me in your reviews! Please R&R!


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